Posts Tagged ‘Darmela area of Orakzai’

An official suggested the bombing could be a revival of a feud between Lashkar-i-Islam and Ansarul Islam. — File photo

Over 25 killed in Khyber bomb blast

Thursday, 18 Feb, 2010||Rabi-ul-Awwal 3, 1431

PESHAWAR: A bomb attack near a mosque and a militant base in northwest Pakistan’s Khyber tribal region killed over 25 people on Thursday in what security officials said could be a feud between rival militant factions.

The blast struck in the district that straddles the Nato supply line into Afghanistan and is a hotbed of both Taliban fighters and other smaller home-grown militant groups.

An insurgent commander was among those killed outside the mosque in the Dars village of Upper Tirah valley. The attack also hit near a base of Lashkar-i-Islam, a militant outfit with some ideological ties to the Taliban.

Rahat Khan, a local administrative official, confirmed to AFP that a militant commander was among the dead, but there was no immediate information on whether the bomb was planted or caused by a suicide attacker.

Lashkar-i-Islam — which means Army of Islam — have staged bombings in the past and are the target of a Pakistani military operation to oust them from Khyber, but intelligence officials blamed warring extremist factions.

“There are two militant groups fighting with each other in Tirah valley. Both of them are attacking each other. There is a possibility that the rival group attacked the Lashkar-i-Islam base,” an intelligence official said.

“There is no communication system in the area. This is an inaccessible area for us,” the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Another official suggested the bombing could be a revival of a feud between Lashkar-i-Islam and rivals Ansarul Islam, which means Companions of Islam.

On January 8, a suicide bomber targeting Ansarul Islam killed five militants and wounded 12 others in Tirah Valley, about 120 kilometres southwest of Peshawar.

Lashkar-i-Islam is the most active militant group in Khyber and is led by feared warlord Mangal Bagh. It has loose ideological ties to the Taliban, but operates independently.

Khyber is part of Pakistan’s tribal belt on the Afghan border where Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants have carved out strongholds. — DawnNews/AFP

Bomb blast kills at least 11 in Orakzai

Pakistan has suffered numerous bombings over the last few months. — File photo

Thursday, 18 Feb, 2010||Rabi-ul-Awwal 3, 1431

PESHAWAR: A bomb blast killed at least 11 people and wounded another 50 Wednesday in Pakistan’s Orakzai tribal region where many Taliban militants are believed to have gathered after fleeing an army offensive, officials said.

The explosion occurred at a cattle market in the tribal region.

Local government official Liaquat Khan said at least 50 people also were wounded in the Darmela area of Orakzai. Officials were still investigating whether the explosion was caused by a suicide bomber or a planted device.

Pakistan has suffered numerous bombings over the last few months, many of them apparently in retaliation for the army operation in the South Waziristan tribal region.

Though militants tend to target security forces, many of the recent attacks have been at civilian-heavy sites, including markets catering to women and children.